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Karan Thapar

Karan Thapar

My guess is that history will even out this difference between the two doctors. When it’s written without passion, but with objectivity and balance, it will be a lot kinder to Dr Manmohan Singh. And I would venture to suggest it won’t be as adulatory of Dr Kalam.

My guess is that history will even out this difference between the two doctors. When it’s written without passion, but with objectivity and balance, it will be a lot kinder to Dr Manmohan Singh. And I would venture to suggest it won’t be as adulatory of Dr Kalam.

In India, we have to go to extremes to ensure the right thing is done. We don’t do it automatically or quickly. We have to be pushed. That’s why our Parliament so often seems dysfunctional before it corrects itself. To mis-phrase Churchill, we try all the wrong things before we end up doing the right one.

Does the Ufa statement represent a significant achievement for Prime Minister Modi? Judging by its content the answer is a clear yes. Judging by Sartaj Aziz’s comments to Dawn and his subsequent press conference, where he was clearly wriggling with embarrassment, I’m confident my answer is right.

I don’t think I’ll ever stop marvelling at the stuff the internet throws up. Oh dear, that could have been better phrased! Every now and then I receive emails full of nuggets aficionados have dug up and salt them away for an occasion like this. Today, I’m going to share with you a small part of my collection and, yes, I’ve phrased myself advisedly because I do consider them gems.

The prime minister and I have at least one thing in common: we both like blowing our trumpets! Quite frankly, I can’t deny it’s music to my ears. I’m pretty sure he likes the sound for much the same reason too writes Karan Thapar.

If you study the comments by the defence and finance ministers, and the prime minister over the last few weeks you can’t help feel this is a classic case of ministers getting the message wrong. As a result they’ve made a difficult situation decidedly worse. Read on and see if you agree with this conclusion.

You might find this amusing but the thought that came to my mind on Mr Modi’s first anniversary is the more things change the more they stay the same. This may sound rhetorical but it’s also a revelatory truth.

What Mr Modi should never forget is that, outside of his opponents in politics, even his critics want him to succeed for the simple reason he’s the only Prime Minister we have and India can’t afford to stumble or lag behind, writes Karan Thapar.

Within hours of the result —in fact even before the sun had set — three political party leaders resigned. They were Ed Miliband of Labour, Nick Clegg of the Liberal Democrats and Nigel Farage of the UK Independence Party. They accepted moral responsibility even though they were not personally to blame.

I’m afraid Mr Modi is caught between two equally compelling forces — the anguish of unfulfilled expectations and the power of outspoken criticism and dissent. As he approaches his first anniversary, I doubt if they will make for a comfortable celebration, writes Karan Thapar.

People remember what they’re doing when the earth starts to shake. I’m pretty confident if you do a test you’ll discover I’m right. Everyone who’s been through an earthquake will remember when it happened.

Has Rahul Gandhi returned a new, reinvigorated and forceful politician? Or are first impressions beguiling but deceptive? The Congress party has no doubt the answer is a resounding yes. But that’s to be expected.